Goochland County, Virginia
Goochland County is a county located in the U.S. state — officially, "Commonwealth" — of Virginia. As of the 2000 census, the population was 16,863. Its county seat is Goochland6. It is located in the Richmond-Petersburg region and is a portion of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). History Goochland was named after Sir William Gooch, Lieutenant Governor. Historical sites include Tuckahoe Plantation (c. 1733, the boyhood home of Thomas Jefferson); Dover, Manakin & Tuckahoe coalfields; and much of the James River and Kanawha Canal (surveyed by George Washington). Goochland County was the birthplace of John Fleming, an important figure in early Virginia government. Portions of Three Chopt Trail, a Native American trail, run through a large portion of the county. The trail was marked by three hatchet chops in trees to show the way. Modern day U.S. Route 250 roughly follows this route as it makes its way from Richmond to Charlottesville. As the colonists moved west of Richmond, they first created tobacco plantations, like those of the Tidewater. They depended on the labor of enslaved African-Americans to manage its intense cultivation. After the Revolution, tobacco was not so lucrative a crop. In Goochland as in other areas of Virginia, many planters changed to growing wheat and mixed crops. They continued to rely heavily on the labor of slaves for the full range of plantation tasks. According to the 1860 Census and Slave Schedules, the total population of the county was 10,656. Of that number, 57.6%, or 6139 people, were enslaved African-Americans. By 1870 after the Civil War, the total population decreased slightly to 10,313, but the number of African-American freedpeople rose to 6610, or 64% of the total. In later years agricultural work decreased and more people migrated to Richmond and other towns. In 1973, Wayne Corporation of Richmond introduced a new safer design in school bus construction. Shortly after the Lifeguard was introduced, the bus manufacturer held a nationwide contest soliciting ideas to improve school bus safety, with a new Lifeguard school bus as the grand prize. The winning entry was submitted by Mrs. Elwood (Pearl P.) Randolph, a school bus driver from Goochland County. Goochland County Public Schools received the new school bus. Her idea was to install sound baffles in the ceiling of school bus bodies to help reduce driver distraction. Compact forms of such equipment were later developed used by Wayne and other school bus manufacturers when diesel engines (and their greater noise) became commonplace for school buses in the 1980s. West Creek Business Park One major contributor to Goochland's tremendous growth in the early 2000s was the construction of the West Creek Business Park and the completion of Richmond's semi-circumferential State Route 288 which connected it to I-64 and I-95. This industrial park began attracting many businesses including the corporate headquarters for Farm Bureau of Virginia and Performance Food Group (PFG) as well as significant employers such as Hallmark Youth Care, CarMax, and Capital One. Geography According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 751 km² (290 mi²). 737 km² (284 mi²) of it is land and 14 km² (6 mi²) of it (1.92%) is water. Demographics As of the census2 of 2000, there were 16,863 people, 6,158 households, and 4,710 families residing in the county. The population density was 23/km² (59/mi²). There were 6,555 housing units at an average density of 9/km² (23/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 72.71% White, 25.64% Black or African American, 0.20% Native American, 0.47% Asian, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.20% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 0.85% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 6,158 households out of which 29.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 64.60% were married couples living together, 8.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.50% were non-families. 19.90% of all households were made up of individuals and 7.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.88. In the county, the population was spread out with 21.30% under the age of 18, 5.30% from 18 to 24, 32.10% from 25 to 44, 28.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 101.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 98.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $56,307, and the median income for a family was $64,685. Males had a median income of $41,663 versus $29,519 for females. he per capita income for the county was $29,105. 6.90% of the population and 4.30% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 7.70% are under the age of 18 and 8.10% are 65 or older. External links *http://www.co.goochland.va.us/ *County history *Goochland County Public Schools *The Goochland Gazette *Official website Tuckahoe Plantation *Historical Census Browser Category:Established in 1727 Category:Goochland County, Virginia Category:Counties of Virginia Category:Counties on the James River (Virginia) Category:Greater Richmond Region